He's Doing It Again...
 

On block/charge...

"When you gather the ball... it's when the defender has to be in legal guarding position." -- Jeff van Gundy, ESPN/ABC, Celtics/Knicks Game One, about 5 minutes ago.

He learned that at the "Billy Packer School of Sports Journalism". :p

That's basically the rule in the NBA.

Has to be there before the upward motion with the ball

He just didn't say it all that well. It's not as though he's being paid to speak or anything...

But he did, late in the game, bring up the issue of teams receiving free time outs as a result of video reviews. I had to grin when he threw out the suggestion I had in the old thread: Don't allow teams into their bench areas during reviews.

Yup, I agree. I also think that rule needs tweaking.

BNR, so the NBA rule book says "gather" (or that equivalent) as opposed to "shooter leaving the floor" as the block/charge litmus test?

Yes, see APG's post.

A defender is late if he doesn't get to the spot before the offensive player has started the upward motion with the ball to shoot or pass. If you get there split second before the offensive player is airborne, then you're too late. At the gather, more often than not, a defender still has a chance to get legal.